Tag: liverpool

Let’s just try and be objective about what happened at Anfield on sunday.

Arsenal’s lack of organization is something I will talk about in detail in my next post. This is something that I have called and foreseen a long time ago. It really does appear to be coming true (how I wish I was wrong).

What we witnessed on sunday should be made into a DVD and shown to children in football academies of what you should never strive to do. It was pathetic and Wenger as usual in his post match conference, when asked about the reason, conjures this :

That question is very difficult to answer straight after the game. There are some reasons but I don’t think I have too much to come out on that at the moment.

Really ?

Can you not call it like it is. That the defense lacked organization. That we needed to adapt quickly to the first goal and we didn’t. That the players seemed off and that we needed to have a better game plan.

Last season I said that after 30 games. We’ve played three games, one at home and two away. In our two first games we were quite good and performances good. Today was not acceptable. Today was not acceptable at that level.

Good ? or Lucky ??

To those people who saw the game on sunday, my heart goes out to you. We played so badly that it’s hard to digest a performance like within the first 3 matches of the season.

This is the Arsenal, or what’s left of it. So bloody disgraceful.

ANALYSIS :

For today’s post, I have decided to do a quick summary analysis of the way these spineless turds played on sunday. To compare, I have listed out what Liverpool did in each situation also.

Please be warned if the photos are not very clear, this was my first time with a camera.

The below figure shows a Liverpool side where each player has a rough idea of where his position should be.

It is important to note here that Liverpool does not have possession of the ball and thus this is the default (without the ball) set structure of the team i.e a 4-3-3 or a 4-5-1 depending on the situation.

The above figure is when we were trailing 1-0. Liverpool now has possession of the ball. Look at the formation. What exactly is this?

Seriously, what exactly is this?

5-4-1 or a 4-4-2 ??

Who knows where Alex Chamberlain is?

Not his fault though, he has not been instructed properly. Just told to ‘do your best’

5 mins later, we have this…

Just look at the clueless Bellerin ball-watching, not even aware of the full-back calling out for a through ball. Just look at the space!

Now, it should be noted that Arsenal has shifted to a 5-4-1 and they were trailing at this point with no threats to the Liverpool goal (excluding Welbeck’s sitter) Liverpool, on the other hand, has still kept their structure(a little stretched), despite being the ones in the lead.

Liverpool, on the other hand, has still kept their structure(a little stretched), despite being the ones in the lead.

Yes, Mr. Wenger. A 5-4-1 when we trail 1-0…did you ever think about switching from a 3 man defense to maybe a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-1-1?

2 mins later…Arsenal tries to attack.

Liverpool does not have the ball, just look at how they setup/re-shuffle accordingly. All Arsenal players are marked via zones. For 6 Arsenal players there are 6 Liverpool players on screen (barring Mane who is still tracking back)

Sanchez has the ball, but there is nobody fucking available. Why ? Because Bellerin is strolling around near him and if I am not wrong, Xhaka is chatting up with the Spaniard. The only 2 people trying to do something is Ozil and Welbeck, but given the brilliance in their positioning Sanchez can’t seem to find anyone free.

1 min later after Arsenal loses the ball and Liverpool attack…

Mane is free. The defense for some reason has become narrow. It looks like the formation and changed to a 5-2 something. Chamberlain has no clue who is at the back of him. Bellerin is again ball-watching. This was a similar position where he was caught out and could not deal with an incoming tap in (missed) by Salah (thank you, Petr Cech).

When you lack organization and instructions the above pictures are what you get. School boy defending and a shambolic shameless performance. There is no leader at the club and there is no will.

Arsenal’s will probably finish 8th or 9th this season given the way they are playing and while this is pretty disgusting it is the most realistic thing which fans should get tuned with. This is not going to be our season, in fact, I do not know what will be our season. Don’t put your hopes up and think a comeback is on…the problems lie at the heart of the team and in its structure and formation. If you send a navy seal unarmed vs someone who has a gun, no matter what seal training teaches you, the latter has leverage.

Arsenal right now is the navy seal (actually even worse, they probably have no training) and the season is the armed man.

In the words of Tyrion Lannister, yes, sir, we are truly

“fucked”

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When the final whistle was blown at Highbury on 15th May,2004. the feeling that all Arsenal fans got was something only Preston North End fans had experienced in 1889. They were invincible, indeed unbreakable.

Who did we not have at that time ? One of the best strikers in the world, 2 classic magicians alongside him. Our keeper was indeed a crazy ****, but he was ‘good.’…a classy midfield and defence, and most of all that ‘Godly’ feeling which resided in the team….

5 years down the road, Arsenal FC is the same, except for a few things such as, you know, we don’t have Henry, Dennis is still at the club (but not where we want him), Pires, Gilberto,Lehmann, Ljunberg are absent in the attendance register of the club and last, we have a complex instead of Highbury.

Today we have no FA Cup titles since our FA cup victory in 2005, no Premiership titles since the Premier League title in 2004…But what do we have instead ?

When the move to the Emirates Stadium was thought of and finalised, Arsene knew that the clubs finances would be curtailed for the upcoming seasons. He didn’t care much about the titles, for he knew they would come. A title can be grinded out,lets face it, Portsmouth won the FA Cup, but a club can never win in an unstable state, or in simpler words, a team like Liverpool ca-…I wont’ even bother writing it.

“Deeper the Foundation, Stronger the Fortress” that was the motto of the Arsenal.

So, we would not win in 06,07,08,09, but look at what the club has achieved. Every time we have qualified for the champions league. Our debt has reduced significantly. Now indeed this would take time, and it has. 4 years goddamn it, and we were so close in the 2007-2008 league season up to 26th February. So when you put on an Arsenal shirt next time, don’t just see it from the footballers point of view, see it from the clubs perspective too…Always remember “We play the beautiful game, the way it was meant to be played.”

When Viera said that the club needed to buy world class players “AW” replied that when the club signed him, he was not World-class. What can you infer out of that reply. Well, in my opinion he believes in his ideals, in his philosophy. Moreover, he believes in this team. And that quality is immense.

If you do not believe you can do it then you have no chance at all.

A real fact is however is that we saw an invincible team, and our standards have been set up to that high level. FC Barcelona can never achieve more than they have done in the 2008-2009 league season, its bloody impossible. So, FCB fans will always want the club to achieve that level again, as after all we want our club to be the best. Anything below that level will not be as satisfying for them as before. But changes take place, and fans should consider these changes.

It easy to sign Lionel Messi on your PS3 or when you play Fifa or PES, just pay about 45 ml, and you got him. But in reality, clubs barring a “few” can’t spend like that in raw-cash. Overall even if one payed 100 ml euros , do you think Barcelona would sell Messi. I mean that Sheikh guy offered FCB a blank-cheque!..and they refused.

Now there were some matches in which the club deserved to get insulted by the fans and those were the matches against United in the champions league and Premier league. As in those matches, the team did not even try….I still remember reading in the internet some petition to sack Wenger or something !..(though that was a bit too much)

Its easy to get angry with the club when they don’t win or when they don’t do something which majority of the fans want. That shows how deeply one is attached to his club. This feeling even I understand, but..

I urge you Gooners out there, believe in the Arsenal. Yes, we may not have trophies and that is what we fans want, but the very fact that the club has developed and its foundation for the long-term has been set up, is actually remarkable.

The fact that we can tell to this to any other club fan, especially the former top 4 team supporters is quite commendable.Look at Manchester United, their debt-situation is so bad, that they actually had to include Ronaldo’s transfer money to show a profit in their financial statements. Old Trafford as well as their training ground have been put under mortgage. In other words, if they don’t pay up, we might see them on the road playing their premier league matches.! Want more encouragement, look at Liverpool. If they don’t manage to pay their loan within 6 th October,2010, their club goes under the banks hands !..Arsenal has been set at a stable financial level, and this will prove to be fruitful in the near future.

Now sometimes, he gets it wrong, and nobody denies that. I mean, I am the first to get really pissed of at him and swear at him. But I have faith in him and I urge you to do the same.The guy knows what he is doing.

I assure you Gooners, the feeling we shall get when we win a title under him will be different – A bit better than that of 15th May,2004….A new era shall begin, because that ‘mental block’ will be over. Any doubtful fan will be convinced that a team with a calibre like this can go on to achieve greater things…

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INJURIES- In typical Arsenal fashion, we begin the season without a crucial player injured:

Alex Song

Robin VanPersie and Captain Cesc Fabregas will both, be given late fitness tests .

SUBS: FABIANSKI, WALCOT, BEDNER, ROSICKY, VELA, GIBBS, DJORU I believe than Wenger will not start Frimpong owing to his inexperience in such an important match. Djoru or maybe Eastmond could be up for contention instead.Fabregas if it is believed, did play 45 mins for Spain, so he may surely start instead of Wilshere. If we concede early, Sagna should be subbed for Walcott early in the second half and Eboue should be moved to right-back. If we are to defend an early lead we should shift to a 4-2-3-1 with Djoru and Frimpong playing as holding midfielders. Eboue has shown with hard work and perseverance what he can do, and I believe after a great pre-season he will be one of the more important players this season, maybe even cementing a regular position in the starting line up. Wilshere or Diaby would be substituted in case of an early lead in the second half with Frimpong coming on to harass the Liverpool players. Gibbs could replace Arshavin(only if we have a comfortable lead) as the little Russian can be a bit complacent in defense, Gibbs has shown in the match vs Legia Warsaw and for England vs Hungary that he is no slouch in the counterattack, his crossing is immaculate and I daresay Clichy beware….. Roy Hodgson will probably not start will Torres, but he may come on later to terrify our defense. Gerrard has hit top form as shown in his performance against Hungary and will have to be kept on a tight leash by our holding midfielders.New signing Joe Cole should also be checked, as he usually does perform well against us. My prediction is a 1-1 draw. Why? Because our dear keeper, Fabianski has conceded 6 goals in the last 135 minutes he has played, 3 vs Warsaw and 3 more vs Cameroon. That is a goal conceded every 22.5 minutes, he better not start vs Liverpool or we may all have a “Goal-Fest.”